I was asked the other day why I chose the title, “Framed By Faith,” for this blog.  Actually, a lot of thought went into it.

I wanted the site to be truly non-denominational in content.  I say truly because in my experience most so-called non-denominational church services would make you think that you’re in one of the many types of Baptist churches scattered liberally around our country.  You would have to double-check the bulletin or the sign out front to make sure you really were at a non-denominational church.

Quite simply, to be a denomination you must have more than one local church that believes the same thing about the Bible, Jesus, etc..  What further designates it as a denomination is if they have at least an annual regional or national meeting, which may or may not include a governing body.  A non-denominational church may believe exactly the same as their brothers and sisters down the street, but they are different because they don’t answer to anybody.

Inter-denominational groups also don’t answer to anyone, but they create a statement of faith that takes what they like from various denominations.  And they try to get along with everybody.  Usually.

I have found myself not fitting into anybody’s category as far as organized church goes. So I set out to observe religious faith as it occurs worldwide, be it in a church or on the back porch.  We all believe something.  Even those who believe nothing become a religion unto themselves, and I personally think that, deep down, a spiritual light flickers in them.

So all that we think, say or do in life is framed by a type of faith that constantly asks the tough questions:  Why am I here?  Where is my loved one that has died?  What happens when I die?  If there’s no better afterlife, then what’s the purpose of living?  Why am I still miserable even when I am healthy and financially secure?

A large part of our spiritual makeup stems from many things that we learned as children, followed by questions, affirmations and challenges along the way, followed by more questions.  The difficulty in this development is that we tend to focus on individuals rather than facts, choosing credentials or charisma over logical thinking.  In this sense, we may be “framed” into believing the wrong things.  That is, we unknowingly, or blindly, follow teaching from someone whose goal has not been to get to the truth, but rather to amass a following.  Or someone who themselves have failed to peel the onion back in order to find the deeper truth.

I see all creation as one, under one Creator, with the human segment of his creatures being the ones asking the “why” questions.  All of this is the framework of the elaborate canvas we call life.  Regardless of what spin we put on our beginnings and endings, there is but one truth.  I am not so bold as to proclaim that I know the whole truth.  I write this blog to explore truth and also to give hope to those who might be struggling with their own religion.  I want to hope more, love more and trust more.  The Bible says that three great truths remain:  faith, hope and love (I Corinthians 13:13).

But the greatest of these is love.